September 2008

Two days into Freshers Week and we already have 4000 students connected to ResNet!

If you need help connecting please give us a ring on 89001 free from your room. Phone lines are now open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It has at times been difficult to get through, especially in the early evening. From 8am-5pm calls are answered by the ResNet team and from 8pm until 8am by the out of hours Help Desk.

If you’ve rung and found lines engaged or been kept in a queue we’re sorry – we are answering as many calls as we can at this very busy time of year. Everyone wants an Internet connection immediately to stay in touch with friends and family, and we want to get people connected as soon as possible.

If you prefer we can also arrange room visits to come out and help you connect up in your room, at a cost of Â£16. We can fix many problems for free over the phone though, so please try calling first.

From 8am-5pm Mon-Fri calls are answered by the ResNet team.
From 5pm-2am and at weekends calls are answered by the Out of hours Help Desk – they can also help with ResNet.

Most people connect up to ResNet with no problems. Everyone wants Internet as soon as they arrive, so this is a very busy time for ResNet. We take on extra staff and answer as many calls as we can, but please accept our apologies if you have difficulty getting through. Lines are open 8am-2am, so please try later (or earlier!) Please don’t bring any laptops in to us – we don’t have the resources to look at them at the moment.

For the very latest info and tools to help with ResNet see our knowledgebase

Need to pay for ResNet?

You can connect first if you haven’t already paid – everyone on ResNet gets a 7 days free trial (longer for students at Langford). Then pay in person by cheque, cash or card at the Computer Centre, Tyndall Avenue. Unfortunately online payments aren’t available – we’re working on them but they aren’t ready for the start of term. You can print an application form and return it by post if you prefer.

New packages – ResNet Standard and ResNet Max
New for ResNet this year are two different ResNet packages, ResNet Standard & ResNet Max. We recommend ResNet Max to people who do a lot of video and other downloads. If you donâ€™t know if you are a light or heavy user try ResNet Standardâ€”you can upgrade from Standard to Max later if you wish.

New Freewire phone

Freewire Phone provides cheap calls to landlines and international numbers, and free calls to other Freewire users. It is a piece of software available for Windows & Mac. You need speakers + mic or a headset to use it.Â Freewire phone will work anywhere â€“ so your friends and family can also download it to keep in touch free of charge.

Problems with Freewire TV?

Freewire TV provides BBC1, E4, Film4 etc to your computer over ResNet. It is now available in almost all residences, and the signal is turned on to all rooms by default. If you have any problems with Freewire:

The ResNet service is now available at Hillside/Woodside for the first time. We’ve also extended ResNet to more of the houses on St Michaels Hill and Osborne Villas.

ResNet Wireless extended

The trial ResNet Wireless service is now available at Northwell House, Richmond Terrace, Winkworth House (with 115 Queens Road within the next few weeks). ResNet wireless is not as fast or reliable as wired ResNet, but is very convenient. We’re testing wirelessÂ to gain experience before gradually providing it to more residences in future years.

Donâ€™t know your username & password?
Go to StudentInfo/new or visit the IT Help Desk at the Computer Centre, Tyndall Avenue, 8am-5.30pm Mon-Fri with some ID.

Laptop clinics coming soon
With funding from the Alumni Foundation we have a new student laptop clinic which will be coming soon. Laptop clinics start weekday afternoons from Wednesday 8th October andÂ can advise on laptops which run slow or have similar problems.